


Family Trees and Sycamore Leaves

by pens_n_umbrellas



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, How Do I Tag, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Light LBMR Spoilers, Light LMJ Spoilers, Major Azran Legacy Spoilers, except the hurt is emotional, no beta we die like men, parental abandoment, semi-hurt/comfort, the alcoholism is never said outright but it is VERY strongly implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:02:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26418415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pens_n_umbrellas/pseuds/pens_n_umbrellas
Summary: When the esteemed Professor Layton disappears, it's up to an estranged branch of the family tree to look after his children.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Family Trees and Sycamore Leaves

**Author's Note:**

> hi! hope you're doing well. i am not that proud of this prologue but! it was needed for context purposes, so hopefully the writing will get better from here on out. updates may not be consistent. hope u enjoy! edit: this will have multiple chapters i’m just bad at using ao3 aha. edit 2: i haven’t worked on this for months but i think about it constantly,,when i have the time it will get done i promise ;;

Nearly all the stories of Professor Layton’s grand adventures started with a letter.

Whether it was a plea for help or the mention of a mystery, he would take his morning tea, pack his bags, and head off to whatever adventures awaited him. Sometimes his exploits brought back rare archaeological finds or new stories for the press to gossip over. Over the years he had won many awards for these travels.

On one foggy London morning, because London mornings often were, Hershel Layton had received a letter over his morning tea, promising a grand adventure. So he said goodbye to his children, left them in the care of his eldest daughter, and got on a plane.

And, like clockwork, a few months passed, and he was once again the topic of discussion among London.

Only this time, it wasn’t about what he had found. He, finder of lost civilizations, was missing.

Moments of gossip turned to weeks of public concern, and people began to ask less about the archaeologist, and more about the children he had left behind. Surely such a kind man wouldn’t leave them so suddenly. His youngest was only ten, and his only son was barely an adult. More and more questions began to spring up, and nearly two months had passed before a call was made.

This story begins with a phone call.

This is a story about Professor Layton, in a way.

This is not one of his adventures.

And, so, in a house that was two stories tall, and yet still felt cramped, it was almost 6:00pm. The mechanical, shrill tone of the landline could be heard all the way up the stairs, but it did not need to go that far up.

Desmond Sycamore was standing by it when it rang. He picked it up after a single ring.

“Good evening, Flora. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Simple pleasantries. He had been anticipating the call for the past week. The rest was a formality, as family often was.

“Hi, Uncle Desmond. I, um, how are you?”

He thought about glass bottles stacked in rows, and newspaper clippings organized chronologically. He thought of less organized things, like old photographs gathering dust and two unused bedrooms. He did not like to think about such things.

“Fine, all things considered. You?”

“Yes, I’m doing well. All things considered.”

They stood in the silence and white noise of the telephone. There were many things to consider, for both of them.

“So,” Desmond said, hoping to speed up the conversation, “did you call to catch up, or did you call for another reason?”

He hoped it was the latter.

“I actually, um, was calling to ask for a favor.” Flora paused. “A big favor.”

Flora sounded more unsteady than usual, almost as if the past moths had taken a toll on her. Desmond wouldn't be surprised if they had.

“What sort of favor?”

“I need someone to look after the kids.”

Despite having expected this for quite a long period of time, Desmond was at a loss for words. When the news of his brother’s disappearance first hit the news, he had hoped to be the one looking after them. He knew what it was like to have lived in a house with no one but you and your sibling. The waiting at the door, hoping every new day will be the day they'll come in through the door, apologizing with a hug. The waiting for a return to normalcy. He had wanted to take them in then, so badly.

He didn’t get to.

Him not knowing what to say worked in the conversation’s favor, because Flora kept talking.

“I know that this is sudden and probably a bad time, but I don’t know how much longer I can take care of Kat and Al by myself. Al keeps on insisting that he can take care of himself and Kat without anyone else, but I don’t think he can. If you can’t do it, that’s perfectly fine, I’m sure someone else can, you’re just the first person who came to mind. I know you haven’t seen them in a while and I don’t know if you’d be comfortable with taking care of them for a while or not. Are you?”

She sat in the pause.

“Desmond?”

“Yes”, he said, slightly louder than he meant to. “Yes, I would love to take care of them.”

Flora breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, thank goodness! I’m so glad you’re able to do this.”

“Yes, of course. Anything for my nieces and my nephew. Will they be staying here or will I be staying at their house?”

“I was thinking you could pick them up and take them to your place for tonight. If they react very strongly against it, they can stay at Papa’s place.”

“That sounds fair. When should I arrive?”

“Can you take them tonight?”

Desmond blinked. It was almost audible.

“I…Now?”

“If you can!”

He checked the kitchen clock, it was definitely past 6:15 now. The drive to his brother’s house would take an hour and a half at least, and with it being a two-way trip, he was lucky if he was going to have them in his house by 10.

“It’s for the kids”, he mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. I’ll be over as soon as I can. Oh, and Flora?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for calling me.”

“Of course, Uncle Desmond."

There was a soft click as Flora hung up the phone.

**Author's Note:**

> thx for reading! lemme know if there are any grammar/spelling errors or if i need to add a tag/tags. have a lovely day!


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